Merchandising and display carton



Nov. 28, 1961 F. TRANSPORT MERCHANDISING AND DISPLAY CARTON 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 17, 1959 INVENTOR. Fellx Transport JZMMM M Nov. 28, 1961 F; TRANSPORT MERCHANDISING AND DISPLAY CARTON 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 17, 1959 FIG-.6

INVENTOR. Felix Transport United States Patent 3,010,571 MERCHANDISING AND DISPLAY CARTON Felix Transport, New York, N.Y., assignor to Donrico, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 17, 1959, Ser. No. 860,222 7 Claims. (Cl. 206-45.15)

This invention relates generally to the class of boxes or cartons and is directed particularly to a new and novel carton construction designed both for packaging and displaying an article of merchandise.

It is well known that in the selling of many types of merchandise the buyer is influenced to a great extent or attracted by the aesthetic appeal of the receptacle in which the material is contained and this applies particularly to cosmetic materials.

It is accordingly a particular object of the present invention to provide a new and novel carton designed to house a cosmetic article or a receptacle containing cosmetic material, in such a way that such material may be attractively presented to the View of prospective purchasers in a box or car-ton in which it remains after being sold.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carton for cosmetic material or for other materials which is designed in a novel manner whereby it can be easily and quickly opened up for the display of the merchandise therein and readily closed so as to effectively protect the merchandise, either for shipment or for delivery directly to a purchaser.

The present practice of displaying materials for sale, particularly cosmetic materials, and more specifically vials containing perfumes and toilet waters and the like, consists in removing the material from the box or container in which it is delivered to the retailer and standing it on a shelf or in a case for display. Such boxes or receptacles usually embody a base portion and a removable top or cover and thus when the top or cover is removed so that the article can be brought into view, even if the article is allowed to remain in the base or bottom part of the carton, the cover must be kept close at hand to be replaced if and when the article is sold. As a result the carton top or cover frequently becomes damaged or lost so that the merchandise when sold must be delivered in a makeshift wrapper to the purchaser.

It is accordingly a further object of the present invention to provide a new and novel type of carton designed primarily, although not exclusively, for housing a bottle or receptacle wherein a main body portion of the carton is constructed to support the bottle, receptacle or other article while auxiliary portions of the receptacle are coupled with the main body portion in a novel manner whereby they can be shifted relative to one another to uncover the encased article of merchandise or reversely shifted to completely encase the main body portion and the article of merchandise therein.

The invention according to the preceding paragraph is more particularly designed in a novel manner whereby the said auxiliary portions of the carton which function as relatively movable covers, are operatively connected with the main body portion in such a manner that when they are shifted to expose the contents of the carton, their movement is limited to prevent their complete separation from the main body portion and thus all of the parts of the carton are permanently joined towall has a window formed therein and a platform is provided within the central portion and in the plane of one edge of the window for the support of an article of 3,010,571 Patented Nov. 28, 1961 merchandise such as a bottle of perfume or the like. Slidably or telescopically mounted upon the elongate central portion are two end portions or caps which are adapted to be slid together so as to completely enclose the central portion and cover the window through which the article of mechandise may be seen when the caps are shifted apart or outwardly toward the ends of the central portion. In addition to the foregoing the central portion and the cap portions are designed in a novel manner whereby movement-limiting elements are provided between the cap portions and the central main body portion which prevents the accidental detachment of the caps or end portions from the main body portion so that all of the parts of the carton are permanently joined together whether the carton is opened or closed.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detail description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of the specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined to a strict conformity with the showing of the drawings but may be changed or modified so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of a carton of preferred design or configuration constructed in accordance with the present invention, the same being shown in closed condition;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section taken substantially on the line 2r-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in elevation of the carton showing the same in opened condition;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section taken substantially on the line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a transverse section taken substantially on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a transverse section taken substantially on the line 6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of one of the end portions or caps of the carton looking into the open inner end thereof;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the blank for the central or main body portion of the carton;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the blank for one of the two end or cap portions.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a carton constructed in accordance with the present invention and illustrated in its entirety in FIGS. 1 and 3, is generally designated 10. This carton embodies first an elongate main central or middle body section 12 and two relatively movable end sections each of which is generally designated 14.

The carton in the central body section and in the end sections 12 and 14 respectively is here illustrated as being of elliptical contour in transverse section and it will be so described, but it is to be understood and it will be readily apparent, that it may take other cross sectional forms or contours than that here illustrated without de-- parting from the spirit and objects of the invention.

The central body section 12 is preferably longer than wide and it is formed from a single sheet of material,

such as cardboard or any other material suitable for the purpose, and FIG. 8 illustrates the design of the blank from which the central body section is fashioned.

The body section 12 comprises a front wall 16 and a back wall 18. The back wall is preferably solid or imperforate, while the front wall is provided with a window opening which is designated 20. This window opening 20 is preferably formed by cutting the middle portion of the front wall 16 along two crossing lines as indicated at 21 in FIG. 8, from opposite corners of a rectangular area which is defined in outline by the dotted lines 22. Thus there are formed the four triangular flaps designated 23, 24, 25 and 26, the base portion of each triangular flap being defined by one side of the rectangular area referred to. Y

, The flap 23 has cut therethrough the oval aperture 27, a portion of which extends outside the outlined rectangular area and the purpose of which opening will be hereinafter described.

The'front and back walls 16 and 18 are of the same dimensions, the blank from which the walls are formed being folded in the process of forming the central section of the carton body, along the longitudinal line 28.

The front and back walls have the relatively flat arcuate or outwardly bowed edges 29 and opposing each of these outwardly bowed edges 29 the material carries or is marked to define an inwardly bowing fold line 30 of the same radius as the adjacent outwardly bowing edge 29. Thus the two ends of the back Wall have portions thereof in the form of a flattened or elongate oval which in the folding of the central body portions become end wall panels and such panels for the back wall 18 are designated 31 while similar panels, and panels of the same size as'for the ends of the front wall 16, are designated 32.

The front wall portion 16is bordered on the side of the blank opposite from the wall 18 by the flap'33 which functions to secure the two wall portions together when the blank is folded to form the central body section, as

h reinafter described.

Each of the walls 16 and 18 is cut along each of the fold lines 30 to form a series of stop tongues 34. These stop tongues extend along the arcuate fold line 30 and have a width extending inwardly from the fold line, which approximates the thickness of the material of the blank.

The central body portion 12 is formed by folding the blank shown in FIG. 8 along the line 28 and the elliptical end panels of one wall are folded inwardly into overlapping relation with the end panels of the other Wall so as to provide the end walls 35 for the central body portion 12, which end walls are, of course, of double thickness as is clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

The arcuate edgeform of the panels 31 and 32 when the panels are brought into overlapping relation following the folding of the front and back walls 16 and 18 on the line 28', causes the front and back walls to take a transversely arcuate contour and the flap 33 is folded in between the front and back walls and is adhesively secured to the inner surface of the back wall 18 adjacent to the free longitudinal edge 36 thereof.

Upon the infolding of the elliptical end panels 31 and 32,'the fold being, of course, made along the fold lines 30, the stop tongues 34 will move outwardly toproject beyond the outer surface of the adjacent front and back wall as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5. The central body section of the carton thus assumes a transversely elliptical shape or form conforming to the elliptical form of the end panels 31 and 32 which make up the two-ply or double-thickness end walls 35 of the central body portion of the carton.

The body end portions 14 are also of elliptical cross sectional contour as shown most clearly in FIGS. and 7.

Each of the body end sections is formed from a blank of the character illustrated in FIG. 9. Such body end as the wall 37, is bordered by the attaching tongue 40.

Each of the walls 37 and 38 has one end edge outwardly bowed as indicated at 41 and opposing the outward bow of each edge is a fold scoreline which is inwardly bowed as indicated at 42, the same being provided for facilitating the bending or folding of the elongate or flattened elliptical end panel 43 which these opposing bowed lines 41 and 42 define.

The opposite end of each of the walls 37 and 38, which will be referred to as the inner end of the wall, has a narrow flange portion extending thereacross as indicated at 44 and the inner side of this flange portion is defined by the scored fold line 45. These flanges 44 are also transversely scored at closely spaced intervals as indicated at 46 to facilitate the bending of the flange longitudinally to conform to the arcuate contour of the adjacent wall when the blank is folded to form the end portion 14.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the formation of each end portion 14 from a blank such as that shown in FIG. 9 is accomplished in a manner similar to the manner of folding the blank shown in FIG. 8 and from which the central body portion is produced. This operation consists in folding the blank for the end portion 14 along the line 39 and folding the elliptical panels 43 in, one against the other, the panels being, of course, folded on the lines 42 and as a result of this when the panels 43 are folded in overlapped relation the Walls 37 and 38 will assume an arcuate contour and the flap 40 may then be adhesively secured, after being folded inwardly, to the inner surface of the wall 38 adjacent to the longitudinal edge 47 thereof. 1

The narrow flanges 44 are, of course, folded inwardly to lie against the inner sides of their respective walls 37 and 38 and they will accordingly take a longitudinally arcuate form conforming to the arcuate form of the adjacent walls.

The overlapping of'the elliptical end panels 43 provides the end portion of the carton with a rigid doublethickness wall as indicated at 48.

The blank from which'the carton body end sections 14 are formed is dimensioned with respect to the blank for forming the central body section 12 so that the end section will be of a proper 'size to receive in its openend an end of the central body section. Such open end for the end section 14 is most clearly shown in FIG. 7, the opening here being generally designated 49 and it will be seen that the opening is bordered along each side by the longitudinally arcuate inturned flange 44.

The area of the opening 49 between the flanges 44 is of approximately the same size as the area defined by the transverse exterior contour of the central body section 12. Thus it will be seen that when each end of the central body section -12 is extended into the open end of an end section 14 of the body, the flanges 44 will press down and ride over the outwardly projecting stop tongues 34 and after they have passed the stop tongues the latter will spring back to the outwardly projecting position in which they are shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 and thus function to prevent the easy withdrawal of the end portion- 14 from the central body portion. It will thus be seen that the end portions of the carton body will ride smoothly on the central body portion in a telescoping manner and by properly dimensioning the walls 37 and 38 in the longitudinal direction, they are made to have a length approximately half the length of the central body portion and the end portions functioning in the nature of closures or caps can then be brought together at their inner or opposing edges50 so as to completely encase the central body portion as shown in FIG. 1.

, As is best illustrated in FIG. 4, when the end portions or caps 14 are drawn apart or slid outwardly on the central body portion the inturned flanges 44, riding on the surfaces of the front and back walls '16 and 18, will be brought into contact with the stop tongues 34 so that complete separation of the end portions or caps 14 from the central body portion is prevented. The separation of the edges 50 of the caps or end portions is sufficient to completely uncover the areaof the window opening so that an article lying therein will be presented to view.

It will, of course, be appreciated that the contour or shape of the opening 20 will be made to accord with the general outline or contour of the object to be placed in the window opening. For example, the opening 20 is here shown as being rectangular to receive a perfume vial which is shown in outline and generally designated 51 and as shown this vial has a cap or stopper 52. In order to place the vial in position in the window opening, the triangular flaps 23, 24, 25 and 26 are bent to extend into the central body portion and accordingly the flap 24 will function as a support or platform for the vial While the side flaps 25 and 26 will engage opposite sides of the same to keep it centered and the stopper 52 is inserted into the opening 27 which is formed in part in the flap 23 and partly in the wall 16.

As hereinbefore stated, while the carton illustrated and described is of elliptical cross section, the novel features of the invention may be embodied in a carton of any one of a number of other shape, such, for example, as round, square, rectangular or diamond. However, the form shown presents a very attractive package and in addition it will be seen that because of the elliptical configuration or cross sectional design, the end flaps 31 and 32 of the central body portion and the flaps 43 of the end portions or caps, when they are folded naturally spring inwardly to the inwardly curved form in which the outer ends of the cap portions are shown and thus the inherent resiliency of the material is utilized in maintaining the wall flaps in the desired overlapping relation.

From the foregoing it will be seen that there is provided by the present invention an attractive novelly designed merchandising and display carton which can be easily formed by stamping from suitable flexible sheet material of any character and wherein the elements designed to function as closures, namely the end portions 14, are restricted in a novel manner in the outward movement thereof so that the possibility of such closures coming off of the central body portion and becoming lost is eliminated.

The claims:

1. A merchandising and display carton comprising an elongate central body section formed of flexible sheet material and comprising front and back walls and end walls, said end walls being characterized by a pair of overlapping elongate elliptical panels, each panel constituting an integral inturned end portion of a wall and lying with its long axis directed transversely of the adjacent wall, said front and back walls being transversely arcuate and joined together at adjacent longitudinal edges, and a pair of end sections each comprising a cap having an open end and a closed end, each cap slidably receiving an end of the central body section therein and the caps being adapted for sliding movement on the central body section to substantially joining positions thereon to completely enclose the body section, the said caps having transversely arcuate front and back walls conforming to the front and back walls of the central body section, and the said front wall of the central body section having a window opening therein with means between the front and back walls for supporting an article for display through said window opening.

2. The invention according to claim 1, wherein the end Walls of said end sections are characterized by inturned overlapping flattened elliptical portions and the front and back walls of the end sections are transversely arcuate and conform to the transverse curvature of the front and back walls of the central body section.

3. The invention according to claim 1, with means for limiting the separatory movement of the said caps on the central body section comprising stop elements projecting outwardly from the front and back walls of the central body section at the ends thereof, and means upon the inner sides of the front and back walls of the end sections for engagement against the stop elements.

4. The invention according to claim 3, wherein the end walls of said end sections are characterized by in turned overlapping flattened elliptical portions and the front and back walls of the end sections are transversely arcuate and conform to the transverse curvature of the front and back walls of the central body section, and wherein the said means upon the inner sides of the front and back walls of the end sections which engage the stop elements consist of flanges comprising inturned portions of the front and back walls of the end sections.

5. A carton for displaying an article of mechandise comprising an elongate body section having end walls and spaced side walls and having a pocket therein and opening through one of said side Walls for receiving an article for display, means for supporting an article in the pocket for display through the opening, and cap members having open ends telescopically receiving end portions of the body section and slidable together thereon to fully encase the body section therein and separable to an extent to uncover the opening of the pocket, stop elements carried by the end Walls of the body section and projecting outwardly toward adjacent walls of the cap members, and means carried by the cap members for engagement with said stop elements for limiting separatory movement of the cap members on the body section which said means comprise flat strip elements lying flat against the inner sides of said walls of the cap members at the open ends thereof and having oppositely directed edges to engage against said stop elements.

6. The invention according to claim 5, wherein said strip elements consist of inwardly reverted portions of the walls of the cap members.

7. The invention according to claim 5, wherein said stop elements consist of tongue portions struck from the side walls of the body section and positioned in the planes of the adjacent end walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,844,189 Stuart Feb. 9, 1932 2,314,721 Lowenstein Mar. 23, 1943 2,854,135 Pantalone Sept. 30, 1958 2,946,498 Williamson July 26, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 922,674 France Feb. 3, 1947 

